Former law lecturer detained in Ireland after fleeing his trial during lunch break

Police in Ireland have detained a former UEA lecturer who absconded from Ipswich Crown Court on the 30th September. Julian Myerscough, 55, a former UEA criminal law lecturer, fled the court building just before the jury was due to return its verdict. He was being prosecuted for breaching the terms of his sexual offences prevention order, having been convicted in 2010 of possessing indecent images of children. Myerscough was found guilty in his absence.

Ipswich Crown Court judge, Emma Peters, issued a warrant for Myerscough’s arrest after it became apparent that he had fled the court. She told the jury: “You will see Mr Myerscough is not in court. Unfortunately he seems to have left the Ipswich area over lunch. I have issued a warrant for his arrest and significant steps are being taken to ensure he is taken into custody at the earliest point”.

A European arrest warrant was then issued after Myerscough was spotted in Dublin. It is thought that he took a train from Ipswich, then travelled to Ireland by ferry. He was subsequently detained the Gardaí, the Irish police force, on Friday morning. British and Irish authorities are co-operating to ensure his return.

The charges date back to September 2013, when police raided Myerscough’s address in Lowestoft and seized a laptop, a computer tower and a USB memory stick. All the equipment was found to contain indecent images of children. He was also charged with three counts of breaching the terms of his prevention order.

During the trial, in which Myerscough represented himself, he said that he “wouldn’t be told by the courts what he mustn’t do”.